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FSU Football: Examining Derwin James decision to skip bowl game

By Jason Parker

ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 05: Derwin James #3 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts in the first half against the Mississippi Rebels during the Camping World Kickoff at Camping World Stadium on September 5, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 05: Derwin James #3 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts in the first half against the Mississippi Rebels during the Camping World Kickoff at Camping World Stadium on September 5, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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FSU football will be without one of their best players in this year’s bowl game – and it begs the question whether Derwin James should have stuck around.

While the news around FSU football for much of this week has centered around the hiring of Willie Taggart as their next head coach, another story that broke was the news that safety Derwin James – maybe the best player on the entire team during his time – was going to declare for the NFL Draft in 2018.

It was a move that shocked almost no one since it was seen coming from his monster freshman season in 2015 and his injury shortened year in 2016 – as many knew he was destined for a payday in the pros and wasn’t long for Tallahassee.

But the news took a different angle when James – who wrote a wonderful article in The Players Tribune thanking FSU football, detailing his love for the school and the difficulty in this decision – said that he would also be skipping the Seminoles’ appearance in the Independence Bowl on December 27th against Southern Miss.

Now, of course, the reason why he would do such a thing is understandable – as someone who missed all of last season with a knee injury and will more than likely be a top five pick this coming April by some lucky franchise, you don’t want to risk another injury that could ruin your payday. I get that and it makes sense.

Add to that the fact that no one can question the loyalty that James had to FSU football. As he detailed in the article, this is a man who grew up a diehard fan of the Noles, committed to the school before he could even drive and inked himself with a tattoo of Chief Osceola before he even stepped foot on campus as a player.

With all that being said…

It still leaves a funny taste in the mouth of some for one main reason: this is a move that we as FSU football fans KILLED both Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey for doing last season as they skipped their bowls to get ready for the draft.

Noles across the country praised Dalvin Cook for playing in an Orange Bowl game that didn’t matter for a title, but was part of his commitment to the Seminoles before leaving for the NFL. We used him as the example of doing the right thing and playing in that game.

I’m not hear to say what James did was the right thing or the wrong thing, as he has to make the best decision for himself and his situation. However, one can not help but notice the decision was made on the same day an article was penned about how much he loved FSU football and was committed to being a Seminole for life.

Next: FSU introduces Willie Taggart as head coach

Derwin James will always go down as a true Seminole who played his hardest in the garnet and gold for just over two seasons of games – it would have been nice, though, to see him finish it out in a bowl game to actually complete this season to show the full extent of that loyalty.

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